(n.) After the first world war, the countries on both sides decided to band toghether to stop such a thing happening again with the "League fo Nations". However, the L.O.N. had no armed forces and when Adolf Hitler withdrew from in in the thirties, the weakness of this "Talking shop" showed through. Disbanded at the end of world war two, it gave way to the "United Nations", where member countries' influence on world events was measured by thier contribution. The contribution is generally based on the GDP of each member country, although the united states and to a lesser extent the united kingdom pay disproportionately more than other members for the upkeep, and also provide more troops.

To prevent world crises' in the future, the UN democratically votes to decide whether it should allow a country to sort out its' own problems or if they should choose to help a side. Being by far the largest group on contributors, the G8 nations choose to help the most western-friendly side in each struggle.

However, certain amounts of ignorance to eachothers' ideas and division of peoples based on economic wants has lead to the UN having trouble maintaining itself as of late. That, combined with the actions taken without consent of the United nations council by the US and her allies has lead to speculation that the UN is heading the way Hitler thrust its predecessor, the League of Nations, and that it has been becoming another talking shop since the fall of the USSR and the end of the communist threat.

Many people think that the United nations is a puppet, and has no real value to the world without a large, common enemy to unite the people.

A good idea, but somewhat naive and inefficient. Like marriage and Communism, it looks good on paper but often fails in practice.

Formed shortly after the second World War, the idea was to bring representatives of numerous nations together in hope of discussing and peacefully solving whatever conflicts or disputes arose. They have done good in areas of Africa for example, but on the large scale it just doesn't work. Each nation is far too preoccupied with self interest to prevent any large treaties or organizations from being set up or enforced. Perhaps the most visible example of failure would be the recent Iraqi crisis.

Some think that if they had stronger centralized authority then things could improve, but it's hard to know.

A support group for people who are unusually obsessed with Israel for some reason.
Contains both raging leftists and crazy Islamists who just sit around and talk about Israel all day long in Manhattan with American money paying to clean up all the filth that spills out when you open the door.

Why don't they all just move it to Palestine?
The feckless condor circled the U.N. building, looking for the dead Jew.

An all-knowing, all-seeing organization which in allowed Iraq to ship all of their biological and chemical WMDs to Syria by having Charter members Russia and France drag their feet in refusing to ratify unilateral military action under the obvious guise of "diplomatic negotiations" AKA Food for Oil program
Then after the United States and ITS ALLIES proceeded to enforce 1441, they cried foul, blood for oil, etc. And for the icing on this cake, the UN secretary general now says that the U.S. engaged in a totally illegal military action.